What is RFID Card Skimming & How to Prevent in India 2020

What is RFID Card Skimming & How to Prevent in India?

What is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology?Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is the use of radio waves to read and capture information stored on a chip. It can read the details stored from several feet away, thus eliminating the need of direct contact.

Because of its cost effectiveness, ease and speed of operations it is replacing several obsolete technologies like barcodes and magnetic swipe cards. The technology is now being used in automated payments systems and others like supply chain management. However, like two sides of a coin, there are some associated security risks with this latest technique.

Like most technologies, RFIDs are also vulnerable to physical and electronic attacks including eavesdropping and sniffing. With time, hackers would also explore the potential vulnerabilities in the system, to access private confidential information. For example, RFID tags are known to respond to a variety of signals, thereby increasing the risk of un-authorized access and data modification.

How RFID Frauds Take Place?Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) frauds are made possible by contactless payment technology, which allows transactions without physical contact between the card and the terminal, which could be a Point of Sale (POS) device or a Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled mobile, a PayPal RFID device, or any other device that has RFID chip readers.

Cyber criminals with the help of RFID card readers, pick up the details of both RFID enabled debit and credit cards almost instantly. If OTP has been waived off for financial transactions (as has been done currently in India by RBI, up-to a payment of Rs 2000 if customer so desires), then it can be easily used to de-fraud people, as OTP would no longer be required to complete the transaction process. A digital pick-pocketer would travel in crowded areas like malls, armed with RFID card readers and try to perform such fraudulent transaction by trying to scan unprotected cards.

How to Prevent Such Frauds?Therefore, it’s important for individuals and organizations alike to mitigate the threat while reaping the benefits of this latest technique. It includes:

Employing latest encryptions like AES-156, to prevent un-authorized card readers from accessing the data stored on the cards

Chip coating: By wrapping the RFID enabled card in an Aluminum foil

Radio signal blocking: By using RFID blocking sleeves / wallets

Using multiple authentication methods: It serves as additional check and balance.

Finally if you not confident about how to ensure the security of these cards, then avoid these cards altogether.

Conclusion:RFID technology is a quite promising one, offering better speed and more convenience. But, while using this new technology, you should also remain vigilant to prevent being victims of RFID card skimming frauds.

However, even after taking due care and caution if you become a victim of RFID card skimming, you should lodge a complaint at the local Police Station or at local / state cyber cell.